Lucy-Fur Strikes

 

“Well, kids, I have to go help your Daddy finish up moving his shop.”  Mom went to the Hoosier in the foyer to get each pup a piece of jerky, the usual way these things work.  JoLee was already in his crate, knowing Mom’s “leaving voice,” and Elbie and Lucy were both standing there at Mom’s feet looking imploring up at her, while Dad waited on the front porch.   

Mom gave each pup a piece of jerky and left, quietly closing the front door behind her. 
  

For a few minutes, the only sound was chewing, along with the TV.  Dad had left it on the Comedy Channel for some background noise. 
  

Then, Lucy stood and stretched.  “Well, this sucks,” she stated flatly.  “Mom’s been doing this all week!  This was ‘Going To The Lake Night.’  I need a run!”
   

Jo and Elbie just sighed.  Jo picked a piece of jerky from between his teeth with his paw.  “Well, there’s nothing that can be done about it, Lucy, so you might as well just get another nap in.  They’ll be back eventually – they always are!”  
 

Elbie jumped up in the Command Chair and put his head down on his paws, facing the front door so he would know the moment when Mom and Dad got home.  Jo jumped up on the couch, and got comfortable.  But Lucy was restless.  She grabbed a piece of rawhide, ran out the dog door and did a few laps around the Big Piney, and then came back in and flopped down on the floor in the living room.  “Are they back yet?”  she panted.  
 

“Nope, not yet.”  JoLee replied.  
 

“It’ll be a while longer, I suspect,” Elbie added.  
 

Lucy ran upstairs.  She was gone for a while – long enough for Elbie and Jo to wonder what she was up to.  Odd thumping and bumping noises could be heard.  When Lucy came back down, there were black shreds hanging from her lips.  
 

“What was that?”  Jo asked.  “Lucy, what have you been doing?”  
 

“Uh, nothing,” Lucy looked a little guilty, but more defiant.  “Nothing that Mom didn’t deserve, anyway!”  She ran back out the dog door.  Jo put his head back down and closed his eyes.  “I don’t even want to know what she’s been up to,” he said.  
 

The next time Lucy came running back in, she looked at the TV and said, “I don’t like that guy.  Why do we have to watch this stupid show, anyway?  I’m going to change channels!”  She snatched the remote up from the table next to Dad’s Biscuit Chair.  Jo’s eyes got big, and he said, “Lucy, I don’t think you should be - ”  
 

Just about then, there was a crunching noise.  Lucy threw the remote up in the air and caught it neatly, then bit down on it again.  Little pieces flew all over the living room carpet.  
 

“Hey, this is fun!”  Lucy grabbed another remote – this time the one for the volume.  (crunch, crunch)  
 

Elbie groaned.  “This is bad.  This is very bad.” 
 

“I don’t care.”  Lucy declared.  “They shouldn’t have been gone all day and then left us again.  She bit down on it again.  And again.  More little pieces of black plastic piled up around her. 
 

It wasn’t too much later when Jo heard the Dogmobile.  “Mom is here!  Mom is here!”  He jumped off the couch and ran for the front door, giving a sideways glance at the paper that was shredded all over the rug.  
 

Heavy steps on the porch, and then Mom and Dad both peered in the front door.  “Oh, no,” Mom sighed.  “What has she been up to?  I see Destruction.”  
 

It took most of the rest of the night for Mom to discover all of what Lucy-fur had done, and it wasn’t until she went to bed that she found one of her favorite socks as full of holes as Swiss cheese.  And Star’s blanket, that Auntie Jolie had made her – it was in the middle of the bedroom floor and it had holes in it, too.  Mom looked sad as she picked up the mess.  She stroked the top of Lucy’s head and said, “Well, I guess that’s what we get.  Luckily, the move’s almost over!”  

A Hot Summer Afternoon at the Lake

“Catch me if you can!” Lucy called, as she ran after the Frisbee.

“I’m not even going to try,” Jo replied. He trotted over to the base of the tree nearest the restroom, where Elbie was studying peemail. They both scratched around in the dirt, and then both left their own messages, Elbie’s message being scant inches from the ground, JoLee’s message about a foot above Elbie’s.

Mom was walking toward the picnic shelter, two towels, a couple of bright orange toys (a flying ring and a flying squirrel) and all the leashes in her hands.

“I wonder what’s up with the towels,” Elbie said. “Mom doesn’t usually bring towels out here – she leaves them in the Dogmobile.”

After depositing everything on the picnic table, Mom grabbed the Frisbee and flung it way out in the lake. Both JoLee and Lucy ran for the water, Jo with a sense of purpose on his face; Lucy with a goofy grin on hers. They both swam out to the Frisbee, JoLee scanning the surface of the water, and Lucy splashing around in circles. She’s getting much, much better at swimming, and doesn’t look nearly as dorky as when she first started. Jo finally spied the Frisbee, and once he had it securely in his teeth, Lucy grabbed the other side of it, and together they brought it back to shore!

“Very good!” Mom cheered and clapped her hands. “What good doggies I have!”

After a few more throws – some on land, some into the water, Mom called Elbie to her, clipped his leash on, and led him to the picnic pavilion, where she hooked his leash to one of the posts and locked it in place with another of the leashes. Elbie stood there, a look of uncertainty on his face. “What’s going on? Where are you going?” Mom just gave him a reassuring pat, and then turned and said to Lucy and Jo, “Let’s go swimming!” 

Mom took the orange flying ring toy and waded waist-deep into the water. Lucy and JoLee swam circles around her, and there was lots of laughter and splashing going on. When she threw the ring, it hit the surface of the water and disappeared! Lucy made her way over to where the ring had disappeared and tried to look for it, ducking her head under the water, and snorting. Jo was on the shore, Frisbee firmly between his teeth.

“Huh! I could have sworn that was a floating one,” Mom said, shuffling over to where the ring had disappeared. Her feet were getting stuck in the muck on the bottom of the lake – she was having troubles walking at all, much less finding the bright orange ring. She finally gave up, and waded back to shore.

Elbie was looking a bit anxious and warm, waiting in the shade of the pavilion. And then you could see the idea, as it was being born, on Mom’s face. She detached Elbie’s leash from the pavilion and brought both Elbie and the leash to the water’s edge. Then she unleashed him and carried him out into the water. Elbie didn’t struggle, but he sure didn’t look very excited about this whole idea. And he knew what was coming next, you can believe that! About knee-deep for Mom, deep enough to ensure that Elbie’s whole body would be covered by water, Mom gently set him down. She made sure Elbie’s face was toward the shore, so the water wouldn’t slap him up the nose, and that his back feet could touch the bottom. And then she just held him there, a supporting hand under his chest. Elbie didn’t seem to mind! In fact, when she took her hands entirely off Elbie, he just stood there, the water gently swaying his body, a relaxed look on his face.

“Wow,” he said. “I didn’t know this was what swimming in the lake was like!” He stood there for the longest time, until Mom went to fetch the Frisbee for another toss, and then he made his way to the shore, shook about a gallon of water out of his fur, and started exploring the shoreline again.

Mom, Lucy and Jo splashed their way out of the lake. “Now that we’re all cooled off, let’s go for a little walk!” Mom hooked Elbie back on his leash (since he has a knack for disappearing at inconvenient times) and all four went for a leisurely stroll along the banks.

There was plenty to explore, for sure. A big flock of Canada geese were complaining loudly, and a blue heron looked up from where he was fishing. Elbie investigated the rocks along the banks, just sure he’d find something interesting. Lucy ran from Elbie to Jo to Mom and back again, and Mom kept flinging the Frisbee for her. JoLee was looking closely at something on the ground, and when Lucy ran up to him and asked, “What are you doing?” he looked up, with a big green grin.

“Jo! Your tongue is green!” Lucy gasped. Mom gasped at the same time. “Jo! You’re eating goose poo! Oh, ick!”

Oh, yeah. It was back to the water for everybody!

Later that night, near bedtime, Elbie was snuggled up against Mom on the couch. She ran her fingers through his fur and started laughing. “Elbie, you’re STILL damp! That’s some thick fur you have there!”

It was a great afternoon escape!

Fun at the Lake

“Hey! You peed on me!” Lucy sneezed and shook her head, sending yellow droplets flying.

“Not my problem,” Jo said. “And if you’d keep your nose out of my business, it wouldn’t be your problem, either!” Elbie just grinned and trotted along.

It was Saturday, and that morning, Mom had to work. But when she came home she took all the furkids out to Branched Oak, to see how full the lake was.

“Look, kids,” she pointed. “Lieber’s Point is gone!” Sure enough, where the geese had made their nest was entirely underwater. In fact, there was a flat-bottomed boat slowly drifting across where Lieber’s Point used to be. People in lawn chairs were at our normal swimming beach, and ranged all up and down the banks where we usually walk.

“I’m surprised there are so many fishermen out today,” Mom continued. “I thought, with all this rain, the fishing wouldn’t be very good. Let’s go over to our picnic area, since our regular swimming hole is full of people.” We went to our normal picnic area, and there wasn’t a soul in sight.

“Ah – this is better!” Mom said, as she turned off the Dogmobile and went around to the back. “Come on out!” She opened the door, and we all leapt out, scattering in three directions. Jo went west, Elbie went east, and Lucy… well, let’s just say that she was all over the place.

Mom brought the Frisbee, and kept flinging it for JoLee. If she wanted him to actually be able to catch it, though, she had to fling it out into the lake, because Lucy would breeze by JoLee, catch the Frisbee, and then keep it from him, laughing the whole time. Lucy followed Jo out into the lake for one catch, and stood there in the hock-deep water for a moment. Then she slowly laid down.

“Hey, this feels good! You should try this, Jo!”

JoLee gave her a look, shook his head and said, “Uh, no thanks, Lucy. Has anyone ever told you that you’re kind of odd?”

Lucy stood up and shook, then followed Jo back over to where Mom stood, laughing.

“I can’t wait to tell your Dad about this,” she said. “The only other time I’ve ever seen a dog do that was when your Auntie Sheila had her greyhound Kiowa. We went to the dog run, he found a muddy puddle and laid right down in it! It was so funny!”

We had a great time exploring and running and playing. It was the kind of day that Mom wishes she could bottle, or put safely in a box, to be pulled out and enjoyed again and again!

Adopted - Now What?

Mom came in the front door, Lucy’s leash in hand. Of course, Jo and Elbie met her at the door, tails wagging. After greeting them, she threw the leash on the Command Chair and said, “Well, I know you don’t like Lucy, so I got rid of her. I just took her out into the country and dumped her.”

“What?” Jo wagged his tail. “Nah. You wouldn’t do that. I know better, Mom!”

Elbie wasn’t so sure. “Well, Jo, you know you’ve been growling at Lucy a lot lately. Maybe Mom DID get rid of her!”

Jo’s tail faltered, then came to a standstill. “No. You don’t really think she would have… No. No!” He trotted off to look out the window, but there was no Lucy to be seen in the back of the Dogmobile. “No!”

Mom said, "Oh, wait. I forgot something." She scooped up the leash on her way back outside, and when she came back, Lucy was on the end of it!! Jo jumped up and down, whined, barked and twined all around Lucy. Lucy just grinned and yawned.

“…And there were three other dogs there.” The three dogs were laying in a circle in the middle of the living room, and Lucy was telling JoLee and Elbie all about her very first class. “And we played and played – and you should have seen Maggie! She was really pretty. We were playing and then she got the zoomies and she ran and ran and ran – and then she ran right into the glass doors that went outside! We all thought she was going to be hurt, but she seemed to be okay.”

“Maybe a little dazed, you think?” Jo was hanging on every word. Elbie looked at him and just shook his head.

“Yeah, I would think so. She really bounced off that door.” Lucy yawned again. “And then Mom made me go through some more doors. You know,” she said thoughtfully, “I really don’t like going through a door when I don’t know what’s on the other side of it. Even if I can see through it, I don’t really know what’s in there.”

Jo nodded. “I know what you mean, Lucy. When I was just a pup, there were things I didn’t like, too, but I’ve done them all now, so I’m okay with them, and you will be, too!”

“Yeah, maybe,” Lucy said. “The instructor watched me playing with all the other dogs and then she looked at Mom and said, ‘And why were you here again?’ I think she was teasing Mom, because Mom told her that I was shy and needed to get more World Experience.”

They all laughed.

A little later, Mom was telling Dad about the trick she’d pulled on JoLee. “Lucy was so tired after the class that she was sound asleep no more than two minutes after I pulled away from the place. In fact, she didn’t even wake up when I pulled into the driveway, or when I went into the house!” She and Dad laughed. “I wish you could have seen how happy Jo was to see his little Lucy!”

"Play With Me!!"

Heavy panting sounded loud in the darkness of the bedroom. The bed bucked and sloshed. Mom groaned.

“Lucy! Settle down!”

“Can’t! Can’t! Can’t!” Lucy panted. She jumped on Jo – he growled. She rolled on Dad – he grunted, then reached out and pulled her in close, so she couldn’t move. Lucy struggled and whined in her attempts to get free.

The noise woke Elbie in the spare room, and as he headed outside to do his business in the dark, Lucy broke free from Dad and hurtled at breakneck speed down the stairs. JoLee, thinking something interesting might be going on, followed close behind her.

Lucy’s barks could be heard echoing throughout the neighborhood. “Elbie! Jo! Play with me! Here’s my ball!”

Elbie rolled his eyes, finished emptying his bladder and headed for the dog door. “You silly grrl – it’s 3:00 in the morning! Nobody plays at 3:00 in the morning – it’s time to sleep!

Lucy looked up with huge dark eyes at the nearly-full moon hanging in the sky, and said, “It’s almost bright as daylight! It’s time to play!”

JoLee snorted and shook his head. “No way!”

And who was it that was sound asleep when it was time for Mom and Dad to get up and go to work?

Oh, yes. Miss Lucy.

Playtime!

“HA! Gotcha!!!”

“No you don’t – you’ll never catch me!!!”

(growls, yips and assorted odd noises ensue)

Mom looked cautiously around the corner of the garage. What started off as a frown between her eyebrows turned into a big grin that transformed her face. There was Lucy, of course, barking at Elbie – but Elbie wasn’t in any trouble. Oh, no – to the contrary, Elbie was dancing like a prizefighter, darting in and biting at Lucy, then backing off and turning his back to her. As soon as she got close enough, he turned around and was flying through the air, teeth flashing, his little snarls filling the air.

Mom had been really worried about Lucy playing too rough – in fact, the night before last night she’d yelled at Lucy over and over again, and each time, Lucy would look at her as if to say, “What’s wrong with you? I’m just playing!”

Tonight, Mom saw the truth. After she finished what she was doing (she’s cleaning out the area next to the garage so she can put pavers down), she went to sit in her chair in the Spare Yard, one of her favorite places. Elbie came running, with Lucy and Jo close behind. Just like the night before – but this time, Mom had caught on to what JoLee and Elbie were doing (and what they were trying to do), which was, of course, to get little Lucy in trouble!

“Dangit!” JoLee panted, after he chased Lucy into the other half of the yard. “Elbie, Mom didn’t yell at Lucy this time!”

“Yeah, I know,” Elbie said, from his Protected Place, behind Mom’s feet and just slightly under the chair. “I think she’s onto us.”

Lucy ran back into the Spare Yard, tossing a tennis ball and chasing it as she went. She ran up to Mom and dropped the ball into her lap, laughing and panting at her, and Mom threw the ball as hard as she could, into the other half of the yard.

As Lucy ran by again, she stuck her tongue out at JoLee and said, “Neener, neener, neener!”

Buried Treasure

Lucy watched curiously from where she was sitting with Mom on one of the lounge chairs as JoLee carried the half-chewed rawhide to the middle of the back yard.

Jo looked to the left, then to the right, and then settled on what he thought looked like the perfect place. With the rawhide still in his mouth, he began carefully digging. He dug a shallow, perfectly proportioned hole, then very precisely placed the rawhide in the exact center of the hole. He looked around again, surreptitiously, for anyone who might be watching, and Lucy ducked her head and looked over at the bird bath just in time. She looked back over, out of the corner of her eye, as JoLee used his nose to push the dirt back into the hole, and had to suppress a giggle at the sight of his speckled nose covered half-way up with rich, black dirt. He tamped the soil down, looked around one more time, sneezed, and then shook himself and trotted towards the patio. Lucy jumped off the lounge chair, ran up to Jo and said, “Whatcha doing?”

Jo growled. “Nunya.”

“Nunya?” Her narrow brow wrinkled. “What’s that?”

“Nunya business!”

Just then, Elbie ran by – with a dirty rawhide in his mouth.

Apparently JoLee hadn’t been as sneaky as he thought!